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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28205550">among the wreckage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xochitai/pseuds/xooch'>xooch (xochitai)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lotor accidentally becoming a single father [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Baby Acquisition, Gen, I dont think this counts as a babyfic, Mild Blood, but there is a baby in it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:06:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28205550</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xochitai/pseuds/xooch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lotor feels a pull to investigate an odd shipwreck; what he finds is completely different from what he had in mind.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lotor accidentally becoming a single father [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2258771</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>among the wreckage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cheers to the first fic I've actually finished in the past five years. Definitely not at polished as it could be but I promised myself I would post something before the end of the year. It's y'all's problem now</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite what its size might suggest, the ship was near silent as Lotor made his way through the halls. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was here. A wrecked pirate ship floating through space is hardly surprising, especially at the outer edges of the empire, where they constantly fought over the smallest slivers of territory. So why, then, would it be here: a barren sector with no faction alliance and too far in for the usual violence? And with the only external damage an incredibly precise puncture?</p><p> </p><p>It really wasn’t any of his business. Odd? Definitely. But it wasn’t his job to investigate every anomaly he came across. However, <em> something </em>drew him to this ship. Intuition was an old friend of his, one he had learned to trust. He decided to indulge the feeling.</p><p> </p><p>The fourth turn where it shouldn’t have been was when Lotor discovered the ship’s acquaintance with oddity long before its demise. Green lights and the faint hum of power—both flickering now—were the only consistent features in the maze of halls. The style would change abruptly every thirty paces, as if someone fused dozens of smaller ships from across the universe and then wrapped them all under one hull.</p><p> </p><p>He carried on, stepping over the remains of the occasional pirate or reprogrammed sentry. Their wounds were clean; either a puncture or single slice. He kept his hand close to his sword. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the doors refused to open. Technically, they were unlocked, but his scans and the sparks suggested something fried the mechanism. Whatever he could pry open wasn’t particularly useful. A meeting room here, yet <em> another </em> hallway there. </p><p> </p><p>The farther he went along the more he longed to meet whoever designed this… thing and ask why. </p><p> </p><p>He turned a corner that split into two halls. Did it even matter which he chose at this point? As he started towards the left, the hums grew into a buzz and the light above brightened. Lotor threw himself into the other hallway just as it exploded, sending a shower of sparks skittering across the floor.</p><p> </p><p>Watching them fall, he noticed something catch the light: little drops and smudges of ultramarine that nearly blended in with the floor. Most of the pirates appeared to have been struck down where they stood, but this one was able to get away. Or perhaps it was their killer? His eyes lit up as he followed the trail.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Finally something interesting. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It led down a hall of evenly spaced doors. Likely crew cabins, but who knew with this void-forsaken ship. Another turn. Another hall. The trail continued halfway down this one before taking a sharp turn into the only open cabin. He drew his sword and approached with silent steps. Just as he reached the threshold, he heard a sound he did not expect.</p><p> </p><p>A soft, high-pitched whimper escaped the room. He paused. There it was again, this time followed by a squeak. As the ticks passed, they grew louder, more desperate. Lotor stiffened in his spot by the door. Something about the sound made his chest ache, and he didn’t know why. For a fleeting moment he wanted to leave—though to focus on his search or to rid himself of the unpleasant feeling, he couldn’t tell—but instead he readied his grip on his sword once again and slipped into the room.</p><p> </p><p>Dull yellow light illuminated a simple bedroom. There, in the farthest corner, a white haired galra was slumped over in a puddle of familiar blue. In their arms was the source of that wretched sound: a baby, frantically patting their caretaker’s face, trying to get a reaction. They did not move.</p><p> </p><p>Lotor scanned the room. No others were in it.</p><p> </p><p>The squeaks stopped. He looked back at the scene and round little eyes were staring back. The baby tilted their head, and then they <em> chirped </em>. Lotor could not remember the last time he had been caught so off guard. The little one, however, did not care about the prince’s crisis, and when their chirps and outstretched arms were ignored, they began to wiggle out of their caretaker’s arms and tried to crawl towards him instead. This snapped him out of his shock; he rushed forward and scooped up the child before they ended up crawling through blood.</p><p> </p><p>The little one, elated with this new development, cozied up in the center of his chest the best they could with his armor in the way. </p><p> </p><p>Lotor stood there for a moment, simply holding the chirping creature in his arms. Why would they be so happy to see a stranger? They couldn’t be older than a few movements. He glanced at the galra in the corner once again and crouched. Gingerly, he lifted their head and took a proper look at their face.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Ah. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The poor thing was confused.</p><p> </p><p>But they were also happy.</p><p> </p><p>Lotor looked back down at the child, whose chirps had become uncertain, and chirped back. They seemed chuffed by this. The universe held plenty of cruelty, let this one have their joy, even if just for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>There was a contact he had within the rebellion who could arrange a place for the child to stay after this. It was likely they would be trained up as a soldier, but with the war and the extent of the empire’s reach, that would happen regardless. Better to be raised by rebels than the alternative.</p><p> </p><p>He surveyed the room again, but this time with a different target. He picked a colorful plush ball up off the bed and offered it to the baby, who eagerly accepted. Next he found the drawers and after a bit of searching found a large shirt that was hopefully their caretaker’s and wrapped them up in it followed by a soft blanket.</p><p> </p><p>Pleased they were no longer pressed against a hard breastplate, the baby gave a final chirp before snuggling as close as they could to his chest and promptly fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Lotor huffed before adjusting the baby in one arm. “Let's get going then. This is no place for the living.”</p><p> </p><p>He set back out into the ship, turning off the light as he left.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Lotor: just gonna finish this investigation real quick and then drop off this kid with some rebels<br/>Lotor not even one month later: do not talk to me or my child ever again</p><p>I may make this a series at some point, we'll see. There are thirteen other drafts and I would like to get through some of those first</p></blockquote></div></div>
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